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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28381824">Wishes</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lyrishadow/pseuds/Lyrishadow'>Lyrishadow</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>A Very Merry Mass Effect  2020 [11]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Mass Effect Trilogy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>M/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 03:06:56</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,011</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28381824</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lyrishadow/pseuds/Lyrishadow</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Wishes made on stars and at Christmas time hold extra magic it seems.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Kaidan Alenko/Male Shepard</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>A Very Merry Mass Effect  2020 [11]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2043946</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Wishes</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>There is no canon of whether Mr. Alenko returned or not, and I wanted something good to happen. <br/>We all deserve happiness at this time of year.</p>
<p>I was also thinking of all the people who deal with PTSD, and how the family can change things for better or worse this time of year. It's important to remember people who have to deal with stress and anxiety. </p>
<p>Sorry, this is several days late... a 3-day migraine just started to leave.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The mornings were still something he had to do early for Egan, working on Spectre reports and helping in decisions involved in rebuilding the citadel, he was often wide awake before the rest of the household. Christmas day was no different, but he chose to only check his messages before the others woke up, hoping to return to Kaidan in bed. Egan was so lost in thought as he read through the messages he almost didn't hear the back door opening and closing.<br/>He stood quickly and spun to see who it was walking into the house.<br/>A man, who froze when he saw Egan, stood in a battered Alliance uniform, his face pale, gray but reminiscent of Kaidan's face and his hands shaking.<br/>"Who are you?" They said at the same time. Loud enough for Kaidan to wander out in Egan's N7 hoodie from their bedroom.<br/>"D..dad?" Kaidan stuttered seeing the man there "Egan this is my dad." <br/>There was more staring before the man came closer to Egan.<br/>"You are Shepard?"<br/>"I am."<br/>"You are here at my house?" Daniel Alenko was staring so much at Egan that he almost missed Kaidan.<br/>"Kaidan!" There was a lot of information to cover, mostly that it had been almost a year since the end of the Reaper War, and Alenko senior had just arrived home.<br/>"Ok. Maybe if we all sit down."  Egan suggested diplomatically "coffee is in the pot." <br/>They sat in silence for a moment, Kaidan leaning close to Egan for support, opposite them at the table was Daniel Alenko who had been declared MIA months ago.<br/>"Dad," Kaidan started to say.<br/>"Let me get this straight, you are the Shepard, the one who saved all of us, and you are here in my home." The shocked look, coupled with the scruffy exterior gave Egan pause.<br/>"I'm sorry it took so long." He replied, Kaidan placed his hand on Egans.<br/>"Egan." Kaidan  shook his head at Egan, " Never apologize, you have done so much."<br/>"Kaidan.." his dad finally turned to his son glancing at their still coupled hands on the table "Is there… what have I missed?" <br/>"You first, please, we have … we hoped but…"<br/>"It wasn't pretty." The other man ran his hand over his face "originally we were back up, just helping refugees and the like, no frontline fighting." <br/>"There were a lot of refugees." Georgina Alenko said quietly as she entered the room. "Do you all have coffee? Good. We have a lot to talk about." <br/>"Georgina." Daniel looked at his wife, a man who had not seen his spouse, and Egan recognized a bit of how he had felt when Kaidan was still missing. “I came... I’m sorry I was…”<br/>“Take your time.” She replied, her tone caring, gentle “We have a lot of that thanks to these two.”<br/>“Yeah.” Daniel nodded staring at his drink as Georgina sat down.<br/>“Should I let you …” Egan began before Georgina shushed him with a look.<br/>“This is family.” She announced, “Daniel, meet our future son in law.”<br/>“What?” He seemed shocked.<br/>“Mom.” Kaidan covered his face with his other hand. “Give him time to catch up.”<br/>“You aren’t angry?” Daniel looked at Georgina.<br/>“Maybe a little.” Georgina replied, “I’d be a lot angrier if it wasn’t Christmas and I hadn’t been wishing so damn hard you would walk through that door.”<br/>“I wasn’t sure if I should…” he paused “The refugees began to ease up and they asked for volunteers.”<br/>“And you are an Alenko, so of course..”<br/>“Yes, I volunteered to go looking for people.” His eyes glossed over “So many of them had been… changed. Turned.”<br/>“I… “ Egan was going to apologize again, his heart aching that this man who Kaidan had described to him as gentle and kind had been forced to deal with the Reapers face on. Kaidan shook his head at Egan, his hand holding on tighter. <br/>“We cleared out some of the suburbs. Rescued some.” he paused glanced at his wife who nodded for him to continue “and we fought others.”<br/>“What took… why did you take so long?”<br/>“We were airlifted to London to help on the ground there.” Kaidan glanced at Egan and nodded at his dad.<br/>“We were there too.”<br/>“I know. I saw… you… Shepard... I.. don’t exactly know what to call you..” a ghost of a smile formed on the man’s face “I was not expecting to find you here,  with my son.”<br/>“You saw me in London?”<br/>“You did a walk around, greeting troops, talking to people.” Daniel shook his head “I didn’t imagine Kaidan was there, I thought I had lost him on the citadel, but you were the hero we all had hope in.”<br/>“I joined Egan’s…. Shepard’s crew.” Kaidan frowned “You were declared MIA.”<br/>“Clerical error.” Daniel looked at his coffee cup again “Well...I was MIA. Then I lost my tags.”<br/>“How….?”<br/>“I don’t know.” Daniel glanced at his wife. “I didn’t think I was coming home. I ended up fighting in a rat hole of a corner in London, and was injured back to the wall when the crucible fired.”<br/>“Yeah, that was Egan.” Kaidan replied softly “He did everything he could, including that.”<br/>“I was able to get medical care, on one of the ships after the fight.” Kaidan’s father rubbed his arm  “Then they sent me via medivac to Australia, of all places. To one of the only hospitals doing rehab.” <br/>“Is there something you are not saying?” Egan asked, his voice gentle “Please, tell us the truth.”<br/>“I had amnesia, no idea who or where I was.” Daniel Alenko looked at his wife again, tears forming in his eyes “I knew I had a wife, and a son… but.. Not where or who.”<br/>“It makes sense. What you have seen, where you fought… it wasn’t pretty.” Kaidan admitted, “I was there too, in London, it stays with you.”<br/>“I still don’t remember everything but once I remembered who I was… I wanted to be here.” “Whatever it is, whatever it needs to be, we will get through it.”Georgina reached over and patted his arm. <br/>“I confess, I have been staying down the road for a week or so.” He looked at his arm again like it was bothering him “I didn’t know if you wanted me home… I saw a turian walking around and …”<br/>“Oh, that’s just Garrus…” Kaidan replied then remembered he had to explain  “Garrus is one of my crew-mates.”<br/>“Ah. It was, odd? I mean…”<br/>“You didn’t remember everything?” Egan supplied “But you knew me.”<br/>“You are hard to forget.” Daniel sighed “Now I suppose that is beneficial since someone mentioned you and Kaidan…?”<br/>“Are engaged.” Georgina finished for him.<br/>“We are, I don’t know what I would do without Kaidan.” Egan replied calmly admitting “I have been in love with him since I was fifteen.”<br/>“Seriously… Mom… Egan… let him catch up!” Kaidan sighed at them both, <br/>“It’s ok.” Daniel replied, looking at Georgina “I… mind if I have a shower, and change?” <br/>“Go ahead, I will get breakfast, we are about to have some hungry people.” <br/>“People?”<br/>“Joker, Gunny, Garrus, and Tali” Georgina smiled “You will meet them, Gunny is going to be staying with us, she’s a lovely kid.” <br/>“Okay.” Daniel stood “Is everything, I mean…”<br/>“Right where you left it. I told you, we wanted you home. I … couldn’t get rid of anything…” Georgina nodded to Egan “Except Egan needed some things, let me know if I have given away anything you need.”<br/>“Not a problem. I see Kaidan has an N7 hoody?” Daniel asked as they talked about clothes. Kaidan turned a deep shade of red.<br/>“Ah. That would be mine.” Egan informed him “It’s just that we borrow each other’s…”<br/>“Yeah, it’s fine. It might take me a hot minute to figure everything out.” Daniel stood to retreat to the bedroom.<br/>“Oh I forgot, Cortez and Vega are still here aren’t they?” Georgina was getting plates down.<br/>“They leave today. James is due back at the villa.” Egan replied. “We also need to report back in three months.”<br/>“You got a date?” Kaidan asked yawning “I mean I suppose I have too but I haven’t looked.”<br/>Daniel Alenko retreated as Egan and Kaidan discussed returning to the Alliance as active service. Once he was definitely in the shower, Egan turned to Georgina.<br/>“Are you ok?”<br/>“I don’t know.” She was leaning against the counter “I am trying to be but…”<br/>“Let me help with breakfast.” Kaidan offered “at the very least.”<br/>“Was it like this for you?” she looked at Kaidan “Not knowing if he was alive then seeing him…” <br/>“Yes.” Kaidan didn’t hesitate to reply as he moved to stack the plates on the table. His mom had a mix of turian-friendly pancakes that she and Tali had worked out, and was making normal pancakes in a bowl.<br/>“I feel numb.” she finally admitted, “I wanted this so much but…I don’t know how to feel.”<br/>“He might take a while to talk to you.” Egan suggested, “I think we got the bare bones of what he went through.”<br/>“The recovery from war is never over, is it?”Georgina stood silent for a moment “I can’t imagine what you, Kaid, and Dan went through. I can only hope to offer a safe place to land.”<br/>“Which is all we need.” Kaidan replied as he hefted a pile of pancakes to the table “A safe place, a home.”<br/>“I can do that.” <br/>“It gets complicated,” Egan sat down again as Kaidan waved him off “When you love someone.”<br/>“I forgot that you had to wait for him too.” Georgina sighed “It hurts, doesn’t it? When you get what you wanted.”<br/>“Sometimes.” Egan nodded “Sometimes there is pain and happiness, but that is living too.”<br/>“So Kaidan… where did you find this guy again?” Georgina was amused.<br/>“He was like that at fifteen.” Kaidan replied from the pantry “Can you imagine?”</p>
<p>Daniel returned to find them all in much better spirits than the shock his return had given them. When the others came in for breakfast, it was much easier to introduce them. Tali cooed over the pancakes cutting them up for her intake. Garrus looked delighted to have some of the same food as everyone else. With everyone settled in eating, the table was full. <br/>Gunny and Joker exchanged triumphant glances.<br/>“Joker? What have you done?” Egan asked, narrowing his eyes at the pair.<br/>“What? Would I have tried to find Daniel Alenko and make sure they got him home?” <br/>“You did?”<br/>“We did.” Gunny replied looking at Kaidan  “We… heard… and I wanted you to not have to deal with losing your dad. Joker heard rumors of a man being sent to rehab in Australia… and well… we followed the lead.”<br/>“Thank you.” Kaidan replied sincerely “I know, it isn’t easy for you two either.”<br/>“Family… isn’t always by blood.” Georgina replied to the two of them “I can adopt Joker too right?”<br/>“Are you going to adopt our whole crew?” Egan laughed softly.<br/>“Sure why not - James, Steve, Garrus, Tali… all of you… this is home whenever you need a break.” Georgina sat up straighter “As long as Daniel doesn’t mind.”<br/>“My family grew, I see.” he smiled at his wife, the doubt and fear had faded from his eyes somewhat. <br/>“Isn’t there a wedding coming up?” Tali snuck in her comment with what amounted to the tone of an evil grin “I mean, none of us would miss that right?”<br/>“Ah, Mom… maybe we should discuss the Krogan, Prothean, Asari….. And the rest of the human crew….” Kaidan chuckled “I am truly trying to imagine Wrex in a tux.”<br/>“That would be a sight… maybe someone should suggest it..” Tali offered “ He can get Grunt to wear one too…”<br/>“Gods.” Egan replied, covering his eyes “Grunt in a tux.”<br/>“He would do it,” Garrus observed “He would complain but he would do it.”</p>
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